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Email exchange with Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian

I had an email exchange with Mr Tan Kin Lian recently and I am posting the exchange here in its entirety without any edits whatsoever.

Basically, Mr Tan had emailed me and asked why I had posted negative views about him, and I replied that I had not posted any negative views about him; that all that I had done was to re-post his own views which he had expressed in 2005, and the views of a letter writer, who disagreed with Mr Tan's views.

I must state for the record that although I am inclined towards Dr Tan Cheng Bock as my choice to be the next elected President of Singapore at the moment, (I haven't decided for sure, as Dr Tan has yet to get his Certificate of Eligibility to stand in the next Presidential Election) I have no personal feud with Mr Tan Kin Lian and have no intention of smearing any Presidential aspirant.

My intention in posting some of Presidential hopefuls previous comments and in asking them hard questions, is to contribute to the debate that Singaporeans are having as to who they would have as their next President.

For example, it was me who asked Dr Tan Cheng Bock pointedly, if he still felt the 'Marxist conspirators' were guilty. The question to Dr Tony Tan, 'you have won damages from opposition candidates who contested against PAP. What is your view on using defamation suits to quell opposition?' is mine.

I hope through such hard questions and by placing the past comments/actions of the hopefuls in the spotlight, the electorate would have a peek into the mindset of the Presidential hopefuls.

Ravi: Dear Mr Tan, thank you for this email, but I did not post negative views about you and neither is the podcast linked here my views. These were your own views and the views of another letter writer to the Today Newspaper in 2005. I merely linked your own views and the rebuttal you received for expressing those views on TOC's FB. If you deem that they are negative, they are not my making nor the making of TOC. I expressed my own views here on the 3 presidential hopefuls: http://www.raviphilemon.net/2011/06/why-dr-tan-cheng-bock-is-still-my.html, and I believe I did not make any disparaging remarks about you; and that my observations on you were fair. I personally feel that all voters, have got to know the views of the Presidential hopefuls better, to make an informed decision come voting day. Although at this moment I do have a leaning towards Dr Tan Cheng Bock, I do not know yet if I would support him for the Presidential election, because he has not gotten his COE yet. But even then, my leaning towards TCB is my own and not that of TOC's. TOC may put out an editorial on the candidate for the Presidential election once the COE has been issued. I also hope that this email is not an attempt at asking me (or TOC) to self-censor our views, opinions and reporting which you perceive may be harmful or damaging to your bid to be the next elected President of SIngapore.

TKL: You have posted a few negative and unfair views about me. I know that you support Tan Cheng Bock but it is not necessary for you to be hitting me - especially in this podcast - where I do not have the chance to give a reply.

Ravi: Mr Tan, now you are just making assertions without any basis whatsoever. As I have pointed out in my earlier reply, what I have posted is NOT my podcast, I have NOT posted any negative or unfair comments about you, neither do I have any intention of 'hitting' you. Unless you have some proof of this, I would suggest you not make baseless accusations such as this, which attacks me unfairly. If you wish, you may post this email exchange in its entirety on your blog and so have your chance to give a reply. Thanks.

TKL: I have said my piece and do not wish to engage you further on this matter.

Comments

TKL just confirmed a view held by many, he is adversed to remarks that he deemed not in his favour, whether they are or not.

He lacks amongst all things, the magnanimity to see thing in the right perspective, hitting on anyone that come along the way when he is not able to zero in who is/are the one(s) that pass negative remarks on him.

He has just proven what many suspect of his character. If he continues to question each person on why they are not supporting him, he would have been a very busy person. Too petty, that is all I can say of him. Forget about the 100,000 signatures TKL for you will not even get a fraction of it.

http://tankinlian.blogspot.com/2011/06/foreign-students-policy.htmlNotice your comment: Dr. Tony Tan has been getting excellent comments, thanks to the SPH newpapers. So, he needs some negative comments to balance the positive comments. I will not give any negative comments on my own, but I will point out some relevant comments from elsewhere.

You went on an email rampage with Ravi Philemon:http://www.raviphilemon.net/2011/07/email-exchange-with-presidential.htmlHe clearly stated that he "merely linked your own views and the rebuttal you received for expressing those views on TOC's FB page" and NOT ONCE did he flame you.

Two things to note. First, before you go on overdrive on alleged "negative and unfair views" about you, do note that this is the fundamental nature of engaging with others on the social media platform. Deal with it with grace, professionalism and dignity.

Second, do consider examining your very own actions on your platform before you disparagingly and hastily accuse others of flaming you online when clearly, the intention here was to provide nothing more than a balanced view, and YOU yourself embarked on the very same thing a couple of weeks ago on your blog.

His point about not having an opportunity is valid. And although it is well within your rights not to give that to him on your broadcast, giving the man an interview would both give him his opportunity to reply and give you some great content. Thanks for the post.

"Where were the Farid Khans and the Salleh Maricans? Why didn't they come?... Because they knew that in an open election - all things being equal - a non-Chinese candidate would have no chance."
Having contested an election as a minority candidate, I am disturbed enough by his comments to write this note. Let me explain why.

Simple answer for PM Lee

I declined invitations to contest the 2011 General Election. This was because I was at a different stage of my life. My children were much younger, I had just come back from the USA a few years before and had to re-establish my career here. I did not know if I had the temperament for public life. These were just some of the reasons why I chose to decline those invitations.

Even in 2011, the pool of people who could qualify for the Presidential race was small.…

The Ministry of Communication and Information (MCI) has taken out a Facebook ad titled, 'Get real about fake news', The ad is taken out after the PAP-controlled Parliament passed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation (POFMA) Bill, with all opposition Members of Parliament voting against the Bill.

The ad draws attention to the viral hoax that Punggol Waterway Terraces had collapsed. The ad said "the hoax triggered anxiety amongst the residents", and urged Singaporeans to "say no to fake news".

It is unfortunate that a website published such an unverified report, and it is certainly unacceptable that it caused much anxiety to the residents of the development (and to all Singaporeans). The publishers and the editors of the website acted irresponsibly in posting the report of the 'collapse' without proper verification, and no one should make any excuses for them for this.

In my walkabouts in your constituency, you had raised some questions with my team and me. I address a couple of more important ones here.

Why were you not here earlier?
I have worked with the less-privileged in the community for a fairly long time. The homeless families I work with come from all constituencies. When I blog about various issues, it concerns a good number of Singaporeans from various constituencies. For example, you were just as affected by the recent massive MRT breakdown as someone living in Aljunied. So, when I was making myself counted on such issues, I was doing so also on your behalf.

I have a family and held a full-time job. As the main breadwinner, my priority like most of you, is my family and my job. As such, time, resources and money for my activism for the society and speaking up on the various issues are very limited. Whatever activism I did, whatever issues I speak up on are done on a voluntary basis. I do not earn almost a mi…